The Sabaody Archipelago lay at the front end of the Red Line in the middle stretch of the Grand Line. It was formed from the exposed roots of the world's largest Yarukiman Mangrove, and the ground constantly produced buoyant bubbles from its natural resin.
The Sabaody Archipelago's zones were divided by numbered groves, each with its own function: Groves 1–29 were the human-trafficking and lawless districts; Groves 30–39 housed the Bubble Park; Groves 40–49 were mainly sightseeing areas with specialty shops; Groves 50–59 were the ship-coating zones; Groves 60–69 fell under Marine jurisdiction; and Groves 70–79 were primarily hotel streets and the like.
Due to Sabaody's unique climate, the resin bubbles were restricted by the weather and could not leave the island, which gave rise to a distinctive form of transport and architecture.
As the last stop before entering the New World, the Sabaody Archipelago was, every year, flooded with fresh pirate crews: some chasing dreams, some chasing fame, some chasing power, and others chasing wealth.
Of course, the most critical thing was that Sabaody had the most "complete, vertically integrated" human-trafficking industry chain on the seas. After all, the ones truly in control of this island were the "gods" of this world—the Tenryuubito (Celestial Dragons).
On Grove 21, inside a bar—
Barrett, holding the latest edition of the newspaper, slung an arm around Doflamingo's shoulders and exclaimed in shock,
"Oi, oi, Boss, how long have you even been gone? How the hell did your bounty jump this fast? It's already up to 575 million Berries. Don't tell me you wiped out a Marine base or something!"
Before Doflamingo could open his mouth, Vergo cut in first.
"But of course. The young master is our king. He's destined to rule the whole world. This much Berries is just the Marines finally showing a bit of sense."
Vergo did not care about the reason at all. Absolutely loyal, he was so worked up that the comb on his right cheek had somehow shifted over to his left cheek.
"Vergo-aniki, you mean you don't even want to know what Boss did while he was away?" Barrett did not get mad at being interrupted. Instead, he patiently guided Vergo along. "With a jump this huge in his bounty, there's no way I'm buying that the Marines slapped those numbers on him at random. My bounty's only 190 million Berries, and you just got bumped up to 90 million."
If he asked alone, there was no guarantee Doflamingo would answer. But if Vergo backed him up, Boss couldn't just brush them both off—right?
As expected, Barrett's words hooked Vergo's curiosity. Vergo turned to look at Doflamingo. He didn't say a single word, but his eyes said everything. That burning curiosity was practically leaking out of him.
To be honest, even Doflamingo was surprised himself. He'd gone out on a trip, and in the Edd War Sea he was confident no one could have discovered him. Let alone that Shiki would leak any intel—after all, Shiki really hadn't looked very glorious on that battlefield.
That meant the only possible reason was the massacre of Kongming and the Marines on that ship. But just that alone should not have warranted such a high bounty. At most, it should have bumped him up to around 100 million Berries. For it to spike like this, Doflamingo could only guess that the culprit was the one who had actually fought him—Saul.
He was sure Saul must have reported his strength to Marine Headquarters and emphasized just how dangerous he was. Only then would his bounty hit 575 million Berries. Even so, it seemed Headquarters still had not fully accepted Saul's assessment. Given his current strength, a little over 500 million Berries was still on the low side.
And things had indeed played out just as Doflamingo had deduced. When Saul reported back to Headquarters, he did everything he could to stress how powerful Doflamingo was, saying he could effortlessly defeat him. But Marshal Kong felt Saul was exaggerating somewhat. A sea-surface battle was inherently unfavorable for Saul to begin with, and on top of that the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) excelled in speed. Taking everything into account, Marshal Kong naturally concluded that Saul's description was not entirely accurate.
However, he did not entirely dismiss the judgment of a fellow powerhouse either. Combined with the fact that Doflamingo had casually slaughtered a Marine Headquarters rear admiral and numerous Marine soldiers, his criminal record and threat level—and the unknowns around him—were all extremely high. After careful deliberation, Marshal Kong finally set the bounty at 575 million Berries.
As for that final decision, Saul had no grounds to object. He could only submit his own transfer request to Kong. After giving it serious thought, Kong felt that having Saul stationed to keep an eye on Doflamingo's movements was not a bad idea. So he approved Saul's request as well.
"Fufufufufu. I didn't really do much. I just easily beat one giant vice admiral and happened to take care of a rear admiral along the way." Doflamingo spoke in an offhand tone.
"Shoushu/Boss, you're amazing!" Vergo and Barrett praised in unison, then each topped off their own glass and downed the drink in high spirits.
The three of them did not actually care that much about Doflamingo's bounty. They were just playing around with it. All three of them knew perfectly well that the string of numbers on a wanted poster did not truly represent anything.
On their way to the Sabaody Archipelago after parting from Doflamingo, Barrett, Vergo, Pica, and even the God Guard Unit had not been idle either. They had stirred up one incident after another across the Grand Line, so their own bounties were also constantly climbing.
After chatting and joking for a while, Barrett kept reading the newspaper. And today's paper seemed particularly interesting. Very soon, another piece of news caught his eye.
"Wahahaha! Boss, guess what I just saw! You, me, Pica, Gecko Moria, Crocodile, Makugai, Squard the Big Whirlpool Spider, Baron Tamago, and Anorid Eck—nine rookie pirates whose bounties recently broke 100 million Berries—have all been labeled the 'Nine Pirate Supernovas.' Our Donquixote Pirates alone hold three of those spots! Wahahaha!"
To be honest, ever since joining the Donquixote Family, Barrett's feelings had changed. At first he had not cared either way, but as he spent more time with Doflamingo and with Vergo, Pica, and the other officers, he had grown to genuinely like the atmosphere of the Donquixote Family.
There was none of the betrayal he had experienced in the army. There was a Boss whose strength made him want to surpass him, comrades he could truly entrust his back to, and the family members treated each other like real family. So, many times, Barrett liked to use his clumsy, over-the-top laughter to draw the family closer together. Doflamingo and the others could all see through him, of course, but none of them ever exposed it. Acceptance and tolerance had always been a two-way thing.
"Oh? That's actually pretty interesting." Doflamingo mused.
He was not interested in being called a "pirate supernova" for its own sake. What surprised him were some of the other names in that list.
He took the newspaper from Barrett and quickly scanned it.
Doflamingo, captain of the Donquixote Pirates, a Logia-type Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) user. Of noble lineage, with a bounty of 575 million Berries. His greatest known feat is defeating Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Saul. Since he rarely makes moves, his true strength is a mystery, but it is speculated that he far surpasses the other pirate supernovas in power.
Barrett, vice captain of the Donquixote Pirates, a Gatai Gatai no Mi (Fusion-Fusion Fruit) user. Bounty: 190 million Berries. He is called the Devil's Heir and is said to possess eyes as terrifying as a demon's.
Pica, senior officer of the Donquixote Pirates, an Ishi Ishi no Mi (Stone-Stone Fruit) user. Bounty: 132 million Berries. His voice is shrill, and he's known to fly into a murderous rage if anyone makes fun of it.
(End of Chapter)
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